Blazer TV access: Stop hogging the ball, Comcast

The Portland Trail Blazers' season tips off in less than two weeks and Blazers fans can expect more of the same -- from Comcast, that is.

In late February, Brad Blakeman, a board member for the Sports Fans Coalition, flew out from Washington, D.C., to testify in front of the Oregon Legislature. Blakeman spoke on behalf of Blazers fans who were unable to watch games because of contract disputes between Comcast and other satellite and cable TV carriers.

In 2007, the Blazers signed a 10-year, $120 million agreement with Comcast, giving the company the rights to show Blazers games on Comcast SportsNet Northwest. Not surprisingly, Comcast then jacked up the access fees for other cable and satellite carriers in the region. In effect, Comcast is forcing customers to switch to Comcast in order to see Blazers games. (Comcast has signed agreements with local cable carriers who don't compete with Comcast.)

Nevermind that Blazers fans in rural areas can't even get Comcast service (or local cable service) if they wanted to. And bear in mind that fans in Portland kicked in $35 million to help build the Rose Garden.

While the Trail Blazers organization is certainly not without fault, it's not happy about the situation and it's fighting back against Comcast. Team President Larry Miller wrote the Federal Communications Commission recently stating that Comcast has broken its promise with the team to increase the Blazers' exposure. Miller complained that Blazers fans were being "held hostage."

Blazers fans aren't the only ones. Sports fans in Philadelphia have had to deal with Comcast flexing its muscles in the local market for more than 10 years. Not only does Comcast own Comcast SportsNet Philadelphia, which carries three of the four major teams in town, but it also owns two of those teams -- the Flyers and the 76ers -- and the arena they play in. As a result, satellite providers have been squeezed out of Philadelphia, and sports fans and media consumers have little choice but to play ball with Comcast.

Since the Sports Fans Coalition last weighed in on the issue in Oregon, nothing has changed. Comcast still hasn't made good on its promise to make Blazers games available to more fans regardless of who provides their TV. Many Blazers fans who want to watch the team this season will be forced to subscribe to Comcast or miss the entire season.

But there's still hope.

In January, Comcast, GE and NBC Universal filed papers in Washington, D.C., asking the government to approve Comcast's acquisition of NBC Universal. Given its need to maintain a positive public image, Comcast would like to keep the situations in Portland and Philadelphia under wraps. When Blakeman arrived in Oregon to speak up on the issue, Comcast scrambled several representatives to fly out and defend the company. Comcast clearly sees the public perception of its treatment of sports fans as a potential Achilles heel in efforts to acquire NBCU.

Considering how Comcast has used these two regional sports networks to drive out competition, imagine what it could do with a national broadcasting network. (Don't have Comcast? Will you miss out on NBC Sunday Night Football? The Olympics?)

Comcast should be forced to account for how it has broken its promise with Trail Blazers fans immediately. Oregon citizens should contact their elected officials and ask them to speak out publicly against the merger until Comcast stops abusing the loyalty of Blazers fans. If ever there was a time for sports fans to demand answers from Comcast, it's now.

Brian Frederick is the executive director of the Sports Fans Coalition.